The Himalaya extend over 2500 km in east to west and between 250 to 425 km in north to south direction. The most extraordinary thing about Himalaya is the way they have been formed in three parallel ranges know as "Great Himalaya, the Lesser or the Central Himalaya. Commencing at Nanga Parbat in the North to West, these ranges pass through Pakistan, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal's - Garhwal & Kumaon Region, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. H i s t o r yo fH i m a l a y a s:-Etymologically Himalayameans "abode of snow" in sanskrit {from hima "snow", and aalaya "abode"}. The correct name for the range is Himalaya, though the plural Himalayas is often used. The Himalaya stretch across five nations Pakistan, China, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. It is the source of two of the world's major river systems ? the Indus Basin and the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin. An estimated 750 million people live in the watershed area of the Himalayan rivers, which also includes Bangladesh. M o r e I n f o.